Once upon a time, in a land far away and long ago - people were allowed to travel and my wife and I were fortunate enough to travel relatively often in Europe, before our little one came along. Since then, we haven't traveled at all together due to a lack of disposable income and the challenges of travelling with a young child with food allergies.
However, our first trip together was to what is perhaps the most photogenic city I have visited, Barcelona, which is a photographer's dream. You can pretty much set a second timer for a shot, throw your camera in the air and you will likely capture something you could put on your wall.
Like this one:
This one is currently on the wall behind my screen and could very well be the best picture I have ever taken, or at least - one of the best pictures I have ever taken in my opinion. Sentimental value, I guess. The gothic quarter is insane.
But as said, stick your lens down any alley and click and you are bound to find something of interest as there are so many layers to the city, so much texture.
It took me well over a year to convince my wife that she should be with me, even though I knew the night I met her whilst dancing, that she was the one I'd end up marrying. I know, people say that when looking back, but I told one of my brothers and a good friend of mine the very next day. Neither thought I was really serious.
I wasn't in a rush however, which meant we could get to know each other without the pressure of trying to end up together as a married couple. Well, it would have been that way, if I hadn't told her we were going to end up together very early on. She thought I was crazy and wouldn't have a bar of it, but I knew very early on that she was more than interested.
As I said, we met dancing and if a person is paying attention to the signals of their partner through the way they move, a lot can be understood. I am a clumsy lead and not a great dancer, but I am pretty good at reading people and knew that she was already on the path to falling in love with me before she did - the body can't hide much. I think flirting with her was some of the best times I have had in my life.
We spent hundreds of hours chatting on Facebook together throughout the days and I think this is where she learned the most about me. Do you ever miss those times? The early times in a relationship where two people are working each other out, testing the waters and testing each other for strength and weakness? It is much like walking through an unfamiliar city, eyes wide and curious, a little apprehensive due to the uncertainty and risk - excited to explore the potential.
This trip to Barcelona set the standard for pretty much every other trip we have taken together because we walked almost everywhere - tens of kilometres a day - and we have done this on every trip. While subways are convenient, walking gives the opportunity to be introduced and surprised by the locals living their life, chance scenes and encounters with the kinds of people who can't be found at landmarks, because they are not on holiday, they have a real life to live. We have met some very interesting people and had some great little moments over the years through our interactions.
My wife is testing to say the least, or at least back then she was very much vetting me, which was a pretty good indicator that my statement of marriage was still on track. Just like the building of La Sagrada Familia, good things things take time and while she was in the alpha testing stages, I already had the beta release notes in editing. It worked out well this way as a solid foundation was getting laid, while the future planning was already in the works. If you haven't noticed, I like to dream ahead.
Planning isn't really my thing, I am more of a rough sketcher. On the day these photos were taken, I ran into a little store, grabbed loaf of fresh bread and a bottle of wine and we ended up eating and drinking together behind the Basilica in a pretty, little park. The leftovers we gave to a trio of friendly alcoholics who we'd had a chat with about life.
It doesn't take much to be happy, does it? Sure, we were abroad and on holiday in a beautiful city - but we have done similar things here in our home town. I think everyone should take advantage of simple life possibilities much more than we tend to. I think that we overcomplicate our planning and because of the effort, we set expectations on how we are meant to feel instead of just rolling with the flow.
We walked these streets for hours and days just talking about our life ahead and the child we were going to have together. We "agreed" on the name Olivia - but I already knew that was never going to happen - she found out when we were choosing names a few years later.
I do love traveling with my wife though and I do miss it. I have no idea when the next opportunity will be, but it has been over four years since the last time and our mini trip to Copenhagen back in April was cancelled due to the Corona virus travel restrictions. A few nights in Barcelona would be gratefully accepted by both of us.
Perhaps one day we will get back to Barcelona, but it is always a challenge for us because there are so many places we want to go and see, to repeat might feel like it is missing out on something else. However, we barely scratched the surface of Barcelona in the days we were there and if we could go back, we would be going in a different stage of our lives, with a different perspective on the world. Our world changes based on how we feel and a great deal of how we feel about a place comes from who we shared it with.
Like a great meal - experiencing a city with someone you care about makes it all the better. But then, it doesn't matter what city it is, with the right person, anywhere will do.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]